Annual outdoor match at Marty Pavelich Ice Rink displays growth of Big Sky hockey
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
On Saturday, Jan. 11, the Bozeman Stingers will host the Sun Valley Suns at the Marty Pavelich Ice Rink, continuing a recent tradition of competitive adult hockey in Big Sky’s Town Center. The puck will drop at 5 p.m.
“It’s really fun to watch high-level hockey on an outdoor rink, especially an outdoor rink like this with a great view and an awesome town,” said Steven Reid, recreation coordinator for the Big Sky Community Organization, the nonprofit in charge of Big Sky’s home ice. Reid credits BSCO’s maintenance staff for keeping the ice in good enough shape to host full-grown hockey players, many with professional and collegiate backgrounds. “I think people are stoked to see such fast-paced hockey happening on our rink.”
The Stingers are a nonprofit hockey club in the Black Diamond Hockey League, and the Big Sky game holds special meaning for Luke Bing, the team’s captain and general manager who grew up in Big Sky.
“It’s the highest level of hockey that exists in Montana right now,” said Bing. When he’s not on the ice, he co-owns Blue Ribbon Builders, a Big Sky family business started by his father Doug. Growing up in a hockey family but not yet a hockey town, Luke would drive multiple nights per week to Bozeman for practices and games. He said the Stingers’ annual Big Sky exhibition has grown every year since it began in 2020, and he’s pleased to see parallel growth of youth hockey in Big Sky.
“I would love to see that opportunity up here to make hockey more available to everybody, and the kids that are growing up here,” Bing said, adding that a game like this will hopefully expose the community to what’s possible and how local hockey can continue to improve.
Big Sky’s youth hockey program, the Montana 64’s, has seen strong growth in recent years. Formerly managed by the Big Sky Skating and Hockey Association, and more recently by BSCO, the youth program went off on its own this year under a new nonprofit: the MT 64 Hockey Association.
Keelan Grupe, a 2024 graduate of Lone Peak High School and former captain of the 64’s top-tier team, is vice president of the new organization. He says his job is simple: “Helping coach, making sure all the kids have fun playing hockey.”
Also handling two jobs in Big Sky, Grupe added it’s been rewarding to dedicate hours on the ice to help build the program’s next chapter. He said this season has brought its challenges as the 64’s independently organize youth hockey, but by next winter the program should be back on track and the future is bright.
Especially for Big Sky’s young players, the annual Stingers game is more than just entertainment—Grupe remembers seeing the Stingers for the first time.
“I thought it was really cool just to see… the skill that these guys have, and it’s pretty incredible just to watch these guys stick handle, and pass the puck and shoot and all that,” Grupe said. Last year, the Stingers welcomed kids on the ice for warm-ups and lineups.
“Just having kids go out on the ice and skate with older people that they can look up to and idolize is really important to their development,” Grupe said.
Grupe encourages community members to come skate at the rink, even first-timers. And when the Stingers come to town, he hopes to see the community take advantage of some “free, fun, high-level hockey” as the sport continues to gain traction locally.
Admission is free to the Jan. 11 game, and Bing and Reid hope for an energetic crowd. The Suns are celebrating their 50th anniversary this season, and with the Stingers being around since 2008, Bing said both programs’ longevity has generated “a little bit of a rivalry.”
The Stingers will sell merchandise with hopes of raising money in the absence of ticket sales, and Blue Ribbon Builders are helping out as the event’s main sponsor. Bing added that the Stingers volunteer in support the Gallatin Ice Foundation as it makes progress on a year-round, stadium-style ice arena in Bozeman—currently about half-built with construction being done in phases with respect to ongoing fundraising efforts.
BSCO will raise money to support Big Sky’s ice rink at a separate event, the Marty Pavelich Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m.
Bing said Marty Pavelich made a huge impact on the community before his passing in June 2024. Bing remembers interviewing the hockey star for a school project as an Ophir Elementary School student.
“That was a big inspiration for me, growing up,” he said, adding that Pavelich’s vision for the community rink and his impact on local hockey has been “amazing.” Pavelich’s passion for competitive hockey in Big Sky will be on display when Stingers and Suns take the ice in early January.
